Counting vs Writting

[Mom2J112903]

So J has been able to count as high as you want him for quite a while now, but thanks to a SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder) which has caused some visual motor delays and other *lovely* things, he transposes his numbers when writting them. For example a "31" can become a "13"-he knows it is wrong and erases every.single.time. He also writes his "3" and "7" backwards. He is in OT twice a week for 45 minutes each session for his SPD where he works hard on his areas of weakness.

 

We are on Lessson 6 of MUS and he was introduced to skip counting by 10s, PERFECT first try! Now when he has to *write* the numbers, that is where it gets concerning.

 

I do not feel like I should stall just because we have been dealing with the transposing of numbers for a while and he can count-no problems.

 

Is it ok to go ahead or will we be stuck at Lesson 6 for *months* all because of his transposing of numbers?

[Guest]

Definitely move ahead. My dd also flipped the order of two-digit numbers for several years as part of her own combination of visual/spatial problems, left/right difficulty, and general SPD. It would have been pointless to hold her back, because it took vision therapy and OT and, most importantly, just time, to straighten it all out, not continually harping on and practicing writing numbers. If the flipping is part of a larger issue, simply sticking to the number writing chapter is not going to help anything whatever and will instead cause frustration and feelings of stupidity. NOT worth it, particularly when the child is capable of going on much further in terms of mathematical thinking and understanding.

 

You can write down what the child tells you if that helps; do math orally; or correct the number order without much comment in the meantime. Your son is so young that a lot of math can be done orally, through reading, using manipulatives, counting and adding in the "real world" rather than on paper, or with magnetic numbers anyway.

[SilverMoon]

Move ahead if he shows mastery of the concept, even if he can't write it. :001_smile: My current second grader (NT) did a fair bit of that last school year. I just pointed it out in a matter-of-fact manner and talked him through writing it correctly whenever it happened. He gradually did it less and less as the year went on.

[peacefully]

My ds also has SPD. We often use a magnetic number set from Learning Resources. It also has symbols for the basic operations. Another thing that we sometimes use are Uno cards (I have lots of these), and he will pick out the cards he needs to represent the number he wants. Sometimes he writes his answer on a whiteboard and then I'll write it on the page for him (so he gets numeral-writing practice). Or he just tells me what to write. Other times, he just wants to write in the workbooks, and he does just great... you know, just to keep me totally confused. :confused:

Edited September 22, 2010 by yllek
typo

[DaffodilDreams]

So there's a reason I stay up late! To learn something I needed to know. DD was diagnosed with SPD years ago, did OT, at home sensory diet, brushing/pressing, listening therapy, all of that. But, she was not school age by the time she "graduated" from OT, so learning issues were never addressed - social issues/fears/tolerating foods, grooming, etc were the bulk of our goals. So, jump to now. Dd is almost 7, has consistently flipped and reversed letters and numbers, recognizes at times that she is doing so but still seems incapable of writing them properly on her own, and I've been chalking it up to age thinking it will magically disappear by the time she is 8. But it seems now, after reading this thread, that her reversals could be related to SPD? So, does this mean I need to get her back into the OT to work on this specific area or is there something I can do at home to help her? Words of wisdom from been-there-done-that folks would be great. Thanks!

[Mom2J112903]

It is "normal" for children to reverse letters up until age 7, then it becomes worriesome. J will be 7 at the end of November and the further we go into Math, the worse it becomes.

 

For example, he has been sitting here for 30 minutes writting the numbers to 100-*he* wants to finish and he knows how to count and he understands he is writting them wrong and it frustrates him to no end. I feel bad for him but he wants to finish, correctly, and it makes him feel accomplished when he does.

 

There is a vision therapist here in town, need to call and see if they accept our insurance. His visual motor skills are delayed and I really think vision therapy would help along with OT of course.

 

This is the third time J has been in OT but of course the first time for academic reasons along with severe SPD. We LOVE our OT and they have done amazing things with him but wow his visual motor skills are still not where they need to be.

[peacefully]

.

[Jan in SC]

Does his OT have him using crossing the mid-line exercises, yet? Those will help his kinesthetic awareness, as well as his visual issues. My almost 8 year old ds still reverses every once in a while. Try laminating an index card with the numbers 1-9 on it and let him keep it beside him during math.

 

I would push ahead in math. You can actually do white-board lessons and write for him. I still write some for my second grader in math.

[Mom2J112903]

Does his OT have him using crossing the mid-line exercises, yet? Those will help his kinesthetic awareness, as well as his visual issues.

 

He has no problems crossing the mid-line which surprised all of us.

[Jan in SC]

Our OT also suggested that my ds sat in the same spot, facing the same direction, with me on the same side each time we wrote anything. She also suggested having him wear a watch or bracelet on his non-writing wrist.

[Guest]

For those of you who asked about vision therapy -- in some children the continued reversals can definitely be related to visual-spatial problems. My dd has had extensive neuropsychological testing which ruled out dyslexia, but she had long-term reversal issues of the order of digits and a few letters, as well as issues with left and right (actually still has these at fourteen) and problems orienting her body in space and processing visual movement. We did six or eight months of vision therapy that incorporated OT, sports vision activities, and lots of 3-D activities such as dodging and hitting a tennis ball on a string.

 

After all this therapy dd can catch and throw a ball at long last, play games like tag, and the reversals finally disappeared. She does, however, still have problems with left and right. I suspect these will be lifelong problems, although my sister has told me she didn't fully figure out left and right until she learned to drive, so who knows?